A sports venue operator has ensured he is not left up the creek without a ‘padel’ in the post-pandemic leisure world.
Austin Carney, managing director of the Soccarena complex and neighbouring New Ferens Park, at Belmont, on the outskirts of Durham, has been prepared to adapt the 74,000-sq ft venue to meet changing leisure tastes.
Prior to the Covid crisis he converted half of the original football-only venue into a multi-activity park, with the advent of the Infinite Air extreme trampoline attraction.
The remaining near 38,000-sq ft is now to become home of the North-East’s first dedicated indoor facility for the fast-rising global sport of padel or padel tennis, as it is also known.
A cross between tennis and squash, it is played in doubles format on a court one-third the size of a traditional tennis court.
The new attraction, set to open in early to mid-January, is to be operated under the title True Padel.
It will feature nine indoor padel courts, two of them “show courts”, new shower and changing facilities, a heated sports room/café, with Sky Sports tv, reception area, retail shop with all the latest padel gear, plus a private car park.
It will be operated by the True Padel Ltd, with Mr Carney acting as, effectively, the “landlord”.
He said: “It looks like padel tennis is going to be the next boom sport, although its already popular in Europe, Asia and the Middle-East and its development here is backed by the LTA (Lawn Tennis Association).
“I was approached by the group, as we have the floor space and roof span with no columns, which is ideal for installing the courts.
“It’s a seven-figure investment and will be the first dedicated facility in the region, as there are two courts at Tennis World in Middlesbrough and I believe the next nearest is at Wetherby.”
Alex Carr, operations manager for True Padel, said: “We are a group of close family and friends who all took different career paths.
“These career paths resulted us in living in countries like Switzerland and Abu Dhabi.
“During these years we all noticed Padel Tennis was growing exponentially and started to participate.
“After a few years of playing we all were completely addicted and now understood why this is the fastest growing sport in the world.
“This led us to the question: ‘Why is Padel Tennis not being played at home?’.
“What started as an idea quickly become reality and we are all excited about growing and developing the sport in the North-East of England.”
In a report highlighting the booming potential markets of the padel industry, published in late June, financial analysts Deloitte highlighted the worldwide growth development of the sport.
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It featured a projection that by 2026 there will be 85,000 padel courts across the world, more than double the current figure of 40,000.
The report also highlighted that the padel sector already has an approximate valuation of 2,000m Euros.
True Padel, on the Belmont Industrial Estate, will have a private opening evening on January 7 and it is hoped it will be up and running for the general public about a week later.
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